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At ‘Gospel House’ for the care of the elderly, Sister Valentina Sakker, 85, looks after her patients. During the conflict, the house was on the front line. Sister Valentina stayed with her charges to defend and protect them. Those were seven years of hell. Before the war, Homs had a population of 800,000. The city […]

Two years ago, Pope Francis visited the country. The papal visit has had a before and an after. The situation improved particularly in the capital, Bangui. The sad thing is that the rest of the country continues to sink more deeply into chaos. In the history of the Central African Republic there is a “before”

Pope Francis will be visiting Myanmar from 27th November to the 30th November, and Bangladesh from the 30th November to the 2nd December. His visit will certainly focus global attention on the plight of all the people suffering, and in particularly, the Rohingyas. “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”, meaning “the whole world is one family”, is an ancient

The Fon people are the largest ethnic group of Benin, and make up 39% of an estimated population of 10 million inhabitants. This ethnicity is mainly settled in the area around Abomey, capital of the ancient kingdom of Danxomé (Danhomè), in central Benin, but there are also large Fon communities in the South. We look

A meal a day at school. This is the challenge of “Mary’s Meals”, a Scottish NGO active in international solidarity. Sometimes it takes but a little, to give hope to many children. This is the story of Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, a Scottish layman who has set up, in a shed at his home in Argyle, an

Places sacred to both Christians and Moslems, where the faithful tend to join together and pray. Moslem devotion to Our Lady. Christians who visit the holy tombs of Moslems to beg their intercession, Moslems making votive offerings in the place where Mary gave birth to Jesus – these practices were widespread in Mediterranean countries during

The Dinka are one of the largest ethnic groups South Sudan. The essential features of Dinka religion fall under three headings, which may be regarded as its three principal dimensions – belief, worship and morality. Belief Considering the Dinka as a whole, the main objects of traditional religious belief are God, the divinities, spirits and

In Kinshasa, a stone quarry provides work for dozens of people but the work is extremely hard – particularly for the women and children. The site is guarded by soldiers and impossible to approach. We have met some of the workers. It is not only gold and precious minerals that have value. In the Democratic

A contemplative community inserted into the social texture of the village, through prayer and work, gives testimony of the presence of the Kingdom of God. At last, we reached Natitingou, in the heart of the Atakora Mountain Range, six hundred kilometres north-west of Cotonou, the economic capital of Benin. Just outside the city, which is

She has helped deliver 34,000 babies. Close friendship with a Moslem Imam, she has lived in the country for more than half a century. She has been a witness to much suffering, but also experienced great hope like that of the new-born child. There is no sign of stress on her face with those attentive